GPA 4.0UW 4.3 weighted
Class rank 7/524
Act 35 single sitting 10 essay portion (36 everything expect 33math)
Sat subject test: none and can’t do them in November, please be honest with how much this will hurt me.
Awards: AP scholar with distinction, National merit commended, science Olympiad state team, Colorado all state swimming award, highest academic letter from my school
AP tests: 5 already taken 2 5s 3 4s taking 5 more this year (7 if you count micro and macro as separate classes and us gov and comparative gov as different)
Ecs
Founded my own turoing company for complementary tutoring for needy children in my area. Got a letter of rec from the mom of one kid with turretres I tutor where she is the regional VP of a finance company and it is a 10 of 10 letter I know because she let me read
4 years varsity swimmer
3 years lifeguarding
Global leader and learners program freshman and sophomore year
Leadership intern national inventors hall of fame junior year summer
Science Olympiad state team 2 years
Volunteer at animal shelter
Started investing club at my school senior year
Delegate for youth congress in my area this year
NHS
2 letters of rec both science and both good I think. Physics wrote it about how physics coudk pertain to fiance, my major so that’s good.
White 300k a year income but tons of debt which doesn’t show
Also from Colorado so don’t know if that helps or hurts
So what are my chances ED for wharton.
Also be brutally honest about the sat and how much that will hurt me because eh am getting mixed results online.
I think your chances are average unless you are legacy, recruited athlete, URM or first gen. Colorado will help you. Your ECs aren’t stand out. You’d be better off if you have some STEM or engineering or coding experience.
@daththiccboi lack of subject tests will definitely hurt you because you do not come from an underprivileged background. For the ivies the subjects tests are only truly optional for low income people with minimal access to resources. For kids from normal or privileged backgrounds they are practically a must.
Penn Admissions has actually said explicitly that they value subject tests.
http://pennwpadmin.wpengine.com/a-note-on-penns-standardized-testing-policy/
I would suggest not applying ED, taking the subject tests, and applying RD. Maybe you were already planning on this but you could apply to a safety/match EA so that you will at least have a safety net going into RD.
Ok cool and the lack of sat subject test didn’t completely destroy my chances right. Also by average do you just me the 25 percent or so chance that everyone has for ED
Ya that’s what I thought. I posted somewhere else asking about this also because my parents literally would not let me take the subject tests as they saw they were optional and said that they would not drive me to the far-ish away testing center or pay for it. Should I email admissions about this or just hope for the best. Also how would they know if I am underprivileged if they are need blind. Just curious.
@daththiccboi if you are not requesting FA then obviously you are not underprivileged. Also looking at the type of school you attend and the degrees and professions of your parents, they can get a good idea of your income bracket.
Tell your parents that the subject tests are optional only on paper. Tell them that if they want you to have a decent chance at Penn or other ivies and elite schools you will need subject tests.
Ok cool thanks for explaining that. With my parents not letting me take the subject tests should I email Wharton to let them know my scenario or should I just let it be as that may make them view me as irresponsible. Also you aid what kind of school would influence it, so would a public school in theory help my chances because I go to a mid tier public school
@daththiccboi forgot to ask, are you being recruited by the swim team at Penn?
No I’m not quite good enough which is depressing
@daththiccboi no public school wouldn’t influence it that much. Since you will not be requesting FA and your parents presumably have good jobs then not taking the subject tests won’t be really justified.
What if you explained the situation to your parents? Would they still say no? Unless you are being recruited for swimming, i think you have better chances RD with subject tests than ED without.
Ok I’ll talk to them. Unfortunately I already applied ED so I can’t go back but I think I’ll just hope I get deferred and then take the subject tests and send in the event that I get deferred.
Yeah that would be the best-case scenario in your case. Good luck!
It is not good idea to contact the schools and blame your parents on this. This will hurt you. You are supposed to take the charge of the process, and should have done more research well before you apply.
I mean kind of except I can’t drive as I don’t have a car and I did take charge for everything I could control
@daththiccboi there is no use in lamenting what cannot be undone, but it would have been useful if you had posted this a few months ago and asked your GC, in order to understand if the subject tests are truly optional for the ivies and ivy-level schools. Maybe if your parents knew how things really are they would have driven you to take the subject tests.
I guess a lesson to be learned from this is do not take anything during the admission process and also generally in life at face value. Dig deeper to understand what is really going on.
No ya I get that now. I did try to ask my counselor also but they didn’t know what the tests were or that the common app no longer had 2 essays. They also didn’t know how to send my quarter grades so I had to explain the process so they weren’t the best resource.
What guidance counselor doesn’t know what SAT subject tests are?
Mine evidently. Our counselors are really not good. In theory we should send way more people to ivy’s each year because we have really good ACT scores on average but I am convinced we send so few because the counselors don’t know what is going on. For example there was a big Colorado scholarship and almost no one was able to apply for it because the counselors forgot to put in most peoples community service.
@Penn95 Ok so I took your advice and talked to my parents about December Subject tests. THey intially said yes so I got excited but they then continued on to say yes, but only if you sing up for your own credit card to pay and find a ride there yourself. They then went on to lecture me for half an hur on how there are more important things in my life and the subject tests don’t even matter. I know colleges don’t want to hear my sob story but I feel like this is actually greatly influencing my chances of getting in and I can’t even control it and I don’t want the colleges to think I am lazy. I could really use your help if it is not too much to ask.
Do your parents want you to go to the Ivies? If their income is $300K+, they’ll likely pay the full fare, ~$70K per year, after tax.